The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing a fluid, the dispenser comprising a dispenser member such as a pump or a valve, a container forming a neck, and a fixing member for fixing the dispenser member to the neck of the container. The present invention also relates to such a fixing member. The fixing member comprises a skirt defining an inside wall serving to co-operate with the neck of the container.
Such dispensers using such fixing members are in common use for dispensing fluids in the fields of perfumes, or cosmetics, or indeed pharmaceuticals.
Several types of fixing member commonly designated by the term xe2x80x9cfixing ringxe2x80x9d are known from the prior art. In general, such a ring defines a skirt that extends downwards and that serves to co-operate with a reinforced portion formed by the neck of the container. The reinforced or thickened portion may be referred to as a xe2x80x9crim lipxe2x80x9d and it projects outwards and forms a downwardly-facing shoulder. The skirt of the ring is provided with a continuous snap-fastening bead or with separate snap-fastening heads serving to come into engagement under the shoulder formed by the rim lip. The skirt is split and can be continuous or split to form tabs at the ends of which the snap-fastening heads are formed. When the skirt forms tabs and snap-fastening heads, a trim band is generally provided that fits over and covers the skirt so as to lock the snap-fastening heads under the shoulder of the rim lip. When the skirt is continuous and forms a continuous inside snap-fastening bead, the trim band is not necessary and is then purely decorative.
In both cases, regardless of whether the skirt is continuous or split, the snap-fastening bead or the snap-fastening heads co-operate with the shoulder of the rim lip. The skirt does not interact in any way with the cylindrical outside bearing surface of the rim lip in a fixing purpose.
Unfortunately, regardless of whether it is split or not, such a skirt is easily deformed due to the bead or the heads being engaged under the shoulder of the rim lip by force. When the skirt has snap-fastening tabs provided with heads, this plastic deformation of the skirt occurs under the effect of the trim band while said band is being mounted. When the skirt is continuous and provided with a continuous inside snap-fastening bead, the deformation of the skirt is sometimes visible from the outside.
An object of the present invention is to remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art by defining a fixing member whose skirt is not subject to any deformation on its outside, and which can also perform effective fixing without using the trim band to lock it on the neck of the container.
To this end, the present invention proposes that the inside wall be provided with at least two longitudinal ribs extending over the height of the skirt, said ribs co-operating by plastic deformation with an outside portion of the neck.
Unlike the snap-fastening head or bead situated under the shoulder of the rim lip and therefore co-operating only with said shoulder, the ribs of the preferred embodiments of the invention extend over the height of the rim lip, and advantageously also under the rim lip so that the skirt is in contact with the neck over a large fraction of the height of the skirt.
In an embodiment, the ribs define an inside diameter smaller than the outside diameter of the neck before the fixing member has been mounted on the neck so that the ribs are deformed plastically over an outside bearing surface of the neck after said fixing member has been mounted on said neck. Since the ribs extend longitudinally, and since they are spaced apart from one another, they can be deformed plastically over the rim lip of the neck relatively easily without damaging or deforming the outside wall of the skirt.
In another embodiment, the reinforced portion or rim lip is provided with at least one retaining notch into which the ribs penetrate by plastic deformation.
Advantageously, said at least one notch extends around the periphery of the reinforced portion.
The notch or the notches may, for example, be in the form of one or more circular grooves formed in the substantially cylindrical outside bearing surface of the rim lip. Naturally, it is possible to consider any shape for the outside profile of the bearing surface of the rim lip that makes it possible to improve the fastening of the ribs by plastic deformation. The term xe2x80x9cnotchxe2x80x9d is thus used to designate any surface state of the outside bearing surface of the rim lip that makes it possible to improve the retention of the fixing member.
In a variant, said at least one notch extends over the height of the reinforced portion, said notch having a width smaller than the width of a rib so that the rib is held by plastic deformation in said notch. In which case, the notch is not peripheral but rather it is vertical, extending through the rim lip of the neck. Advantageously, the notch has a width that tapers from the top end of the neck. The notch is preferably wider than the rib at the top end of the neck and necessarily narrower than the rib at its bottom end. This makes is possible firstly to facilitate inserting the rib into the notch, and secondly to retain the rib in the notch by a barb effect.
It is also possible to consider a split skirt having tabs, on the insides of which the ribs are formed. In which case, the fixing member further comprises a trim band which covers the skirt at least in part. Since the ribs can be deformed without deforming the outside wall of the skirt, the trim band can be mounted on the fixing member before it is mounted on the neck of the container. Thus, the fixing member and the band can be mounted as a single unit on the neck of the container.
According another aspect of the invention, the skirt comprises longitudinal inner recesses located radially outwardly of the ribs in the thickness of the skirt, so that the ribs may be deformed radially outwardly into their respective recesses without deforming the outer surface or wall of the skirt. These recesses allow a deformation of the inner ribs without affecting the outer surface or wall of the skirt. It is therefore possible to pre-mount a trim band on the skirt. The trim band may advantageously be in contact with the outer wall of the skirt on the entire periphery, and therefore also at the level of the inner recesses. Of course, the expression xe2x80x9cinner recessesxe2x80x9d means that the recesses do not open at the outer wall of the skirt which may therefore remain cylindrical. Preferentially, the recesses open or emerge at the level of the lower end of the skirt and are therefore shaped as blind holes extending axially in the thickness of the skirt wall from its lower end. And in order to enhance a good elastical deformation of the ribs, it is advantageous for the recesses to be larger than the ribs.
The present invention is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings which give three embodiments of the present invention by way of non-limiting example.